How can I stop Steam updates to R2TW ?

**Ars Moriendi** · 12-18-2013, 21:28

A few days before patch 8 went live I disabled Steam updates for R2 - or so I thought - I checked "Do not automatically update".
I did it because I had a few mods installed which might not get updated soon (or ever) and I just wanted to finish my campaign as it was before updating anything.

However, the next day after patch 8, the game failed to start - it just froze on the copyrights screen. So something must have been downloaded by Steam, despite me explicitly telling it not to. I tried "Verify integrity ..." thinking it will fix whatever was broken - but instead of doing what it says on the label, it merrily proceeded downloading the entire patch - although the "Do not update.." option was still set (see screenshot).

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Now, my campaign is forfeit half way. This may not seem such a big deal ("just start a new one") - but my gaming time is very limited so it might take me 1-2 months to finish a campaign. If I re-start now, the same thing will probably happen again when patch 9 is released, and I really don't like getting forcefully rebooted each time CA/SEGA/Steam put out a new patch/DLC (which I may not want/need anyway).

So, the question again : is there any way of stopping the updates - completely and reliably ?

Anger venting :
I am actually much more annoyed with wasting time than I am with wasting money on an unfinished game. Spending ~50EUR and not really getting what I paid for - I can live with that. Spending two weeks trying to get beyond the halfpoint in a campaign, then having it reset on a whim - plus an entire evening adding/removing mods and trying to make it work again ... that, I don't take easily.
It's MY TIME, goddamit, and I have very little to spare.

**Hooahguy** · 12-18-2013, 22:21

Maybe it was the steam cloud? I really have no clue. Have you posted this on the CA support forum? They actually check those forums and since many more people view those forums you might find a real answer.

**Ars Moriendi** · 12-19-2013, 07:32

Thanks. I just copy pasted this post on the support forum (at forums.totalwar.com - I hope it`s the right place).

I don't think Steam cloud is the culprit - as I understand that feature is just an online backup for my game settings / saves.

**Sp4** · 12-19-2013, 09:57

Block Steam in your firewall and tell it there is no internet the next time it asks.

On a sidenote, I find it really annoying that Steam automatically assumed you want your stuff updated to the latest possible version all the time. It would be nice if it would just let you select one.

**Ars Moriendi** · 12-19-2013, 10:40

I will try blocking Steam from internet as soon as I get home. The thought occured to me briefly when I found out about the upcoming patch, but I dismissed because I assumed the game just won't run without a connection - doesn't Steam also do license checking besides updates and advertising ?

**Sp4** · 12-19-2013, 11:30

Originally Posted by Ars Moriendi

I will try blocking Steam from internet as soon as I get home. The thought occured to me briefly when I found out about the upcoming patch, but I dismissed because I assumed the game just won't run without a connection - doesn't Steam also do license checking besides updates and advertising ?

Once you played it once with a connection, it should let you play even without one.